Michael Barry Interview

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Michael Barry Interview

Discovery Channel rider Michael Barry chats with Roadcycling.com about the Giro and his new book Inside the Postal Bus.

had a good group of editors to help me with it and a lot of family and friends to read it over.

IM: I don?t suppose there were any other juicy stories that you had to leave out that you might care to share with the readers of Roadcycling.com??????

MB: Nah...

IM: Did you enjoy the experience of writing the book? There of course is a big difference between doing diary entries for a website and writing almost 300 pages.

MB: Yes, I did enjoy the experience but it was definitely stressful at times. I did most of the writing in the off-season, and was at the computer for hours on end each day. I felt like I was back at school working to get an essay handed in on time. I have learned a lot from the process and that in itself was extremely valuable to me.

IM: Was the USPS/Discovery Channel team supportive of you writing the book?

MB: Yes, they were. I didn't really talk to many of the guys about it last year as I wasn't sure I was going to get it done. George and Christian Vandevelde were really helpful and wrote a few sidebars in the book as well.

IM: Last year, your USPS team-mate Victor Hugo Pena also co-wrote a book (? A Significant Other ? by Matt Rendell. Click here for our review, Here for Author interview). Did he have any words of encouragement for you? Did you ever read his book?

MB: I actually had no idea he co-wrote a book. I'll have to ask him about it next time we're on the race together.

Just to give you an idea what Inside the Postal Bus is all about, we?ve got a great excerpt for you to read?it will be available on Roadcycling.com later this week. But hey, here?s a sneak peak for our many loyal readers...

?The difference between American and European bike races and racers has also become more pronounced to me over the past few years. In America, there is always a sprint for the corner. Halfway through the race, riders dive underneath each other to gain a bike length. Bigger builds and muscle mass bulging from beneath the skinsuit top are used to intimidate. The riders are bigger in build as the races are shorter in length and flatter than in Europe but are fast and furious. Although the races are short, they require concentration. Letting off the pedals, or applying too much pressure to the brakes, places riders at the back. Riders don?t pull in breakaways as they all have sprinters on their respective teams who can win. There is little respect for the profession and more respect for physical aggression.

As my team is an American team with an American title sponsor, it has had an obligation to race in the United States and to have a large percentage of American riders within the team. Each season we race the key events on the American calendar: the Redlands Classic and Sea Otter Classic in California,